Volume 9 > Part 3 > Year 2008 > Page 201 > Fagaceae > Castanopsis

10. Castanopsis diversifolia (Kurz) King ex Hook.f.wfo-0000813584

Fl. Brit. Ind. 5: 620. 1888; Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 2: 96, t. 85a. 1889; Craib, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1911: 473. 1911; Contr. Fl. Siam., Dicot.: 202. 1912; Brandis, Indian Trees: 634. 1921; Hickel & A.Camus, Fl. Indo-Chine 5: 1022. 1930; Barnett, Quer. Rel. Fag. Asia: 165. 1940; Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 34: 366. 1944.— Castanea diversifolia Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 44. 2: 197. 1875; Forest Fl. Burma 2: 479. 1877. Fig. 13.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Tree, 10–30 m high; 150–200 cm girth. Terminal buds and lateral ovoid; bracts 2–3 by 1–1.5 mm, pubescent on both sides. Twigs tomentose, then glabrescent. Bark brown with grey patches; inner bark with long, pale stripes. Leaves elliptic or oblong, 11–22 by 5–10 cm; base obtuse, sometimes slightly oblique; apex acuminate; margins entire; coriaceous or subcoriaceous, glabrous except along midrib and nerves on the upper surface, pubescent then glabrescent on the lower; midrib and nerves prominent on the lower surface and depressed on the upper; lateral nerves 8–14 pairs, arched but not anastomosing, scalariform veins conspicuous on the lower surface; reticulate veins inconspicuous. Petiole 1–1.5 cm long, tomentose then glabrescent. Inflorescences male and female mixed or separate, terminal and axillary, erect, tomentose. Male inflorescence always branched, spikelets 5–10 cm long; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, 4–5 by 0.5 mm, pubescent outside. Male flowers creamy, fragrant, solitary or in 2–3-flowered cluster; calyx 6-lobed, oblong, free, ca 1 by 0.5 mm, ciliate; stamens 12, 1.5–2 mm long, glabrous; rudimentary ovary ovoid, flattened on top, ca 1 mm in diam., hirsute. Female inflorescence spike 8–15 cm long. Female flowers always solitary, other characters as in male flowers; styles 3, divergent, pilose near base; stigmata pointed, more or less hairy. Fruits globose, 4–6.5 cm in diam. (including cupule), always solitary on erect and woody infructescence 15–20 cm long. Cupule completely enclosing the nut except umbo; wall completely covered by tufted, erect, simple spines. Nuts 1 (2–3) per cupule, ovoid to ellipsoid, 1–1.5 cm in diam.; glabrous except orbicular area of indumentum around umbo; scar basal.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Lampang, Tak; CENTRAL: Lop Buri.

Distribution : Burma (type), Laos.

Ecology : Lower montane rain forests, scrub forests, mixed deciduous forests, on granite bedrock, 700–2,200 m (most commonly 1,000–1,500 m). Flowering: February, November (most commonly February–August).

Vernacular : Ko paen (ก่อแป้น), ko rang (ก่อหรั่ง), ko (ก่อ), kwao kwang (กว้าวกวาง), ko ti (ก่อตี), ma ko (มะก่อ), ko nam (ก่อหนาม)(Northeastern).

Uses: Nuts edible.